Week 2 woes? Dust yourself off, because Week 3 Daily Fantasy is here.
Week 2 did not disappoint with eight of the nine early kick-offs won by teams scoring more than 30 points, two going over 40 and one over 50.
We have to give our flowers to the Detroit Lions. They proved many a doubter wrong with their 52-21 victory over the Chicago Bears, as Lions HuddleUK writer Archie wrote in his recap.
That result spawned the two highest scorers in their respective positions so well done if you stacked Lions quarterback Jared Goff (34 pts) with wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (39.2 pts).
On this week’s HuddleUK Podcast, we discuss Tom Brady’s Top 5 Power Rankings but not before we chatted Week 2 fantasy, so be sure to check out the latest release.
Week 2 recap
One reason we did not hit the highest score last week was Josh Allen (£8,200). He only churned out 11.82 pts in a game where he did not need to do much, as the New York Jets did not put up much fight.
That would be fine if we had not also selected Jets running back Breece Hall (£5,800) who failed to do much at all for 5.8 pts.
It was the cheaper fliers that caught the eye however, which is fantastic to see and would have yielded winning line-ups for a lot of players:
- RB Bhayshul Tuten (£2,000) emerged from the shadows for 15.4 fantasy points.
- WR Elic Ayomanor of the Tennessee Titans scored a touchdown on his way to 15.6 pts, which was brilliant for only £2,000 again.
- WR Troy Franklin was the standout with 24 fantasy points for only £2,000. We might see his name pop up again later in this article.
And finally, Ja’Marr Chase was the correct choice to build your line-up around at £8,200 as he netted you 36.5 pts. It simply does not matter who throws him the ball seemingly.
But enough about last week. Where are the Franklins and Tutens of Week 3?
Quarterbacks
We now have two weeks of games to take samples from and that insight is pointing to one man: Caleb Williams (£6,600).
Regardless of how the Chicago Bears or their quarterback are performing in the win department, Caleb has produced in fantasy. He faces a Dallas Cowboys defense that just allowed Russell Wilson to throw for 422 yards at home.
Stat: Through the first two weeks, Dallas allows 76.6% pass completion (2nd) and Chicago allow 75% (4th).
I expect this to be a high-scoring affair between two sides who can score but cannot defend particularly well.
Cheaper options we like
You will have seen that back-up QBs are starting a handful of games this week due to injuries to starters Joe Burrow, Jayden Daniels, J.J. McCarthy and Justin Fields.
This has sprung some value with the back-ups being priced very affordably. Carson Wentz (£4,200) comes in for McCarthy and gets to face the porous Cincinnati Bengals pass defense. We do not need him to do much to payoff that price.
In a similar vein, Marcus Mariota (£4,200) will start for the Washington Commanders at home against the Las Vegas Raiders. Mariota’s last two Commanders games scored 19.6 fantasy points (QB9) in Week 7 of 2024 and then in Week 18 he scored 26.04 pts (QB6).
His rushing upside is the key here. During those two games, he had 16 rushes for 90 yards and one touchdown – that is 15 fantasy points alone!
Running backs
If you can spare the cash, I would be going premium here.
Jonathan Taylor (£8,600) at the Titans and Bijan Robinson (£8,600) against the Panthers are both expensive but have massive upside and could carry your lineups to victory this week. I doubt you can have both… so choose wisely.
It seems a long time ago now, but Week 2 Thursday Night Football between the Green Bay Packers and the Washington Commanders was a tough watch.
Commanders running back and HuddleUK podcast guest Austin Ekeler suffered a season-ending achilles injury – we wish him a speedy recovery.
This does open the door for Jacory Croskey-Merritt – who likes to go by ‘Bill’ – to take on a larger role in the offense. At £4,400, he is good value, even if he is against a tough Raiders run defense.
Rhamondre Stevenson (£4,000) seems to have Mike Vrabel’s faith in New England. He faces a Pittsburgh run defense that has allowed big days from Breece Hall (Week 1) and Kenneth Walker (Week 2).
Another player set to see a bigger role this week is Jordan Mason (£3,800). He takes over the Minnesota Vikings backfield from Aaron Jones who has landed on IR.
One to watch is Quinshon Judkins (£3,200) of the Cleveland Browns. His team hosts the Green Bay Packers, which is not a defense I would personally target.
However, at that price, he might not need to do much for you. He scored 10.1 pts last week on 13 touches so I expect he can be value to our line-up at that cost.
Wide receivers
There are plenty of viable middle-tier wide receivers this week.
Firstly, Justin Jefferson is far too cheap. At £6,200, I doubt he has ever been cheaper and his price is reflecting the quarterback situation. He faces a poor Bengals pass defense and Jefferson could be a great stack with Wentz for a good overall price.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba (£6,200) continues to absorb targets and catches. He has 23 targets through two games – with 17 catches, but no touchdowns. That is bound to change at some point, and the Saints defense travelling all the way to Seattle might be the chance for him to hit paydirt.
Tip: Creating a ‘Comeback stack’ is a great way of building a line-up. Stack the QB with a WR/TE on one team and then also have a WR/TE from the opponent. There is a good chance both receivers will score highly in a shootout.
My lock of the week is going to Rome Odunze (£5,000). He has emerged as Caleb Williams’ favourite target and at that lowly price, should be very achievable.
As the comeback player, I would consider George Pickens (£5,600) due to the fact he has game-breaking ability still, but is far more affordable for line-ups compared to his teammate CeeDee Lamb (£8,000).
Cheaper options we like
Hunter Renfrow (£3,400) appears to have taken the Adam Thielen role in the lineup. He will continue to be Bryce Young’s security blanket.
And if you cannot afford Odunze? How about Olamide Zaccheaus at £2,200? Caleb has looked his way 12 times so far and until Luther Burden earns the coaches’ trust, I would expect him to still feature.
Tight ends
If you do not choose Jonathan Taylor at running back, I would suggest Tyler Warren (£4,400) at tight end is a good option. He has had two outings of double-digit fantasy points and a very healthy share of targets on the Colts offense.
Juwan Johnson (£3,600) is also too cheap and should be in line-ups still. He has yet to score less than 15 pts in a week and averages 10 targets so rack him up again.
And finally, if you do not go for Pickens, then Jake Ferguson is a great value this week at just £2,600. He had 12 targets last week for nine catches and 16.8 pts.
My Sunday Stars line-up
This line-up carries more weight than just scoring me points – this is for redemption of Breece Hall and Josh Allen!
There are a number of different angles but I am going to double down on the Chicago vs Dallas match-up and stack my lineup accordingly.
Captain (x1.5) – Rome Odunze (£5,000)
QB – Caleb Williams (£6,600)
RB – Jonathan Taylor (£8,600)
RB – Rhamondre Stevenson (£4,000)
WR – Jaxon Smith-Njigba (£6,200)
WR – Calvin Austin III (£3,000)
FLEX – Jordan Mason (£3,800)
TE – Jake Ferguson (£2,600)
I would have loved to have squeezed in Pickens but Ferguson is a worthy cheaper option.
Taking a cheap flier on Calvin Austin III is also a double comeback on Stevenson in the event that game is high scoring.
Let us hope for better running this week – best of luck and let me know how you get on!
